1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kinase receptor activation (KIRA) assay. In particular, the invention relates to an assay for measuring autophosphorylation of the kinase domain of a receptor protein tyrosine kinase (rPTK) using a kinase receptor activation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (KIRA ELISA).
2. Description of Related Art
One mechanism for signal transduction in animals involves protein phosphorylation. Protein phosphorylation involves the action of protein kinase, an enzyme that transfers a phosphate group from a phosphate donor onto an acceptor amino acid in a substrate protein. Protein phosphatases provide a means for reversing the signal when the stimulus is removed.
Protein kinases have multiple substrates, and classification of the protein kinases is based on the acceptor amino acid specificity. The two most well characterized protein kinases are the protein kinases with a protein alcohol group as acceptor called protein serine/threonine kinases and the protein kinases with a protein phenolic group as acceptor called protein tyrosine kinases (Hunter, Methods in Enzymology 200:3-9[1991]).
The most well known type of signal-transducing protein kinases are growth factor receptor protein tyrosine kinases (rPTKs). rPTKs usually comprise a large, glycosylated, extracellular ligand binding domain (ECD) and an intracellular domain (ICD) which contains a tyrosine kinase catalytic domain. A single hydrophobic transmembrane (TM) domain connects the ECD and ICD. Examples of rPTKs include the insulin receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGF-R), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1-R), and the HER2 receptor, to name a few. See, for example, Ullrich and Schlessinger Cell 61:203-212 (1990) and Fantl et al., Annu. Rev. Biochem 62:453-481 (1993). rPTKs can phosphorylate exogenous protein substrates and intrinsic tyrosine residues via their catalytic tyrosine kinase domain. The intrinsic tyrosine residues normally reside in the ICD of the rPTK (see FIG. 1 herein). Activation of the intracellular kinase domain of rPTKs appears to be mediated by receptor oligomerization which results from the conformational alteration of the ECD upon ligand binding thereto. See Ullrich and Schlessinger, supra.
Serine-threonine kinases have also been disclosed in the literature. While most of the known protein serine-threonine kinases are cytoplasmic proteins, a family of mammalian transmembrane receptors with serine-threonine kinase domains has recently been found. Members of this receptor family have been described as binding TGF-.beta.'s and activin. For reviews of serine-threonine kinases, see Sale, G., Biochem, Soc, Transactions 20: 664-670 (1992); ten Dijke et al., Prog. in Growth Factor Res, 5: 55-72 (1994); and Mathews, L., Endoc. Rev. 15(3): 310-325 (1994).
Various assays have been developed which measure tyrosine kinase activity. Some of these assays measure the ability of a tyrosine kinase enzyme to phosphorylate a synthetic substrate polypeptide. For example, an assay has been developed which measures growth factor-stimulated tyrosine kinase activity by measuring the ability of the kinase to catalyze the transfer of the .gamma.-phosphate of ATP to a suitable acceptor substrate. See Pike, L., Methods of Enzymology 146:353-362 (1987) and Hunter, Journal of Biological Chemistry 257(9):4843-4848 (1982), for example. In this assay, the use of [.gamma.-.sup.32 P]ATP permits the radioactive labeling of the phosphorylated substrate, which is a synthetic tyrosine-containing peptide. Others have described protein kinase assays wherein incorporation of .sup.32 P into a tyrosine kinase receptor, such as the EGF receptor (see Donato et al., Cell Growth Differ. 3:259-268 [1992]), insulin receptor (see Kasuga et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry 257(17):9891-9884 [1982] and Kasuga et al., Methods in Enzymology 109:609-621 [1985]), and liver growth hormone receptor (see Wang et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry 267(24):17390-17396 [1992]), is measured.
The discovery of anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies has provided a non-radioactive, alternative means for measuring phosphorylation of tyrosine residues. For example, White and Backer (Methods in Enzymology 201:65-67 [1991]) mention polyclonal antibodies which selectively bind to phosphotyrosine and are considered to be useful for studying rPTKs. An anti-phosphotyrosine monoclonal antibody was used in one of the assays referred to in Madden et al. (Anal Biochem 199:210-215 [1991]), which measured phosphatase activity toward the insulin receptor. Anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies were also used by Cleaveland et al., in their protein tyrosine kinase ELISA assay. See Cleaveland et al., Analytical Biochemistry 190:249-253 (1990). The method of Cleaveland et al. utilizes purified high-activity oncogene tyrosine kinases, v-src and v-fps, and measures the ability of these tyrosine kinases to phosphorylate synthetic polymeric substrates which are coated on an ELISA microtiter plate. The phosphotyrosine produced by src-induced phosphorylation of the polymeric substrate is then quantitated by addition of an anti-phosphotyrosine antibody, the presence of which is detected using a second rabbit anti-mouse antibody which is linked to a reporter enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HRPO). A similar ELISA assay has been developed by Lazaro et al., which is used for detection of a protein tyrosine kinase. See Lazaro et al., Analytical Biochemistry 192:257-261 (1991). Like the assay of Cleaveland et al., this assay also measures the ability of a protein tyrosine kinase to phosphorylate a synthetic substrate which is bound to microELISA wells.
A direct way to assess specific activation of rPTKs is by analysis of receptor autophosphorylation. See, e.g., Hunter and Cooper Ann Rev Biochem 54:897-930 (1985) and Ullrich and Schlessinger, Cell 61:203-212 (1990). Using this direct approach, Knutson and Suck disclose assays for measuring autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor under in situ or in vitro conditions (Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 285(2):197-204 [1991]). In the in situ assay, monolayer cultures of embryonic mouse 3T3-C2 fibroblasts (having the endogenous insulin receptor) are incubated with insulin in large cell culture dishes. Following incubation, the insulin receptor is extracted from the membranes. To achieve extraction of the insulin receptor, the cell monolayers are scraped into a buffer containing protease inhibitors and the cells are then disrupted in a homogenizer. The cellular homogenate is subsequently subjected to centrifugation for 60 min., and the pellet which forms is extracted into buffer containing detergent. Following a further centrifugation step, the supernatant (containing the insulin receptor) is incubated with an anti-insulin receptor antibody. Then, the receptor-antibody complex is incubated with protein A-agarose and unoccupied protein A sites are blocked with normal rabbit IgG. The agarose beads are then centrifuged, the supernatants aspirated and the pellets are re-suspended in buffer containing the radiolabelled anti-phosphotyrosine antibody. The amount of bound iodinated anti-phosphotyrosine antibody is consequently measured.
Klein and his colleagues discuss an assay for measuring insulin activation of the insulin receptor (Klein et al., Diabetes 42:883-890 [1993]). In this assay, aliquots of a heterogeneous population of mononuclear blood cells (including T cells, B cells, macrophages etc) having the insulin receptor are exposed to insulin in centrifuge tubes. The cells are then lysed in detergent using a motordriven homogenizer and the lysates are concentrated two- to fourfold using vacuum centrifugation. Sometimes, the insulin receptor is also partially purified using wheat germ agglutin agarose. The supernatants which form following centrifugation, are then transferred to anti-insulin receptor-coated microtiter plates. Insulin (8.7 nM) as well as kinase and phosphatase inhibitors are present during receptor immobilization in order to optimize the percentage of receptors captured to the microtiter plates. Activation of the insulin receptor is then measured by transphosphorylation of the substrate Poly-Glu,Tyr with .sup.32 P labeled ATP. The supernatants are then spotted onto absorbent paper and the paper is washed with cold TCA to remove unbound .sup.32 P-ATP. Remaining .sup.32 P-labeled Poly-Glu,Tyr on the washed absorbent paper is subsequently counted by scintillation counting.
Hagino et al. were also interested in studying the insulin receptor in patients (Hagino et al., Diabetes 43:274-280 [1994]). As a first step in the assay, Hagino et al. stimulate a primary cell suspension, which is not particularly homogeneous with respect to cell type. In particular, heparinized blood (1 ml washed twice with medium and resuspended in 1 ml of medium containing bovine serum albumin, BSA) is exposed to varying concentrations of insulin. The autophosphorylation reaction is stopped, the cells centrifuged for 30 min, the supernatant is discarded and the erythrocyte ghosts thus obtained are resuspended in buffer and centrifuged again. The pellet thereby obtained is adjusted to 500 .mu.l and solubilized in detergent. The solubilized materials are then centrifuged and the resulting supernatant is subjected to sandwich ELISA (using anti-insulin receptor antibodies to capture the insulin receptor) to determine the extent of insulin receptor autophosphorylation.
King et al. in Life Sciences 53: 1465-1472 (1993) describe a calorimetric assay for examining inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor-associated tyrosine kinase in human intact epidermal A431 cells.
Several others have used an enzyme-conjugated form of the anti-phosphotyrosine antibody in Western blot analyses which measure receptor autophosphorylation. Briefly, Western blotting generally involves electrophoresing activated rPTK on polyacrylamide gel. The rPTK is then transferred to nitrocellulose and immunoblotted with the anti-phosphotyrosine antibody which is labelled to enable detection. See, for example, Wang, Molecular and Cellular Biology 5(12):3640-3643 (1985); Glenney et al., Journal of Immunological Methods 109:277-285 (1988); Kamps, Methods in Enzymology 201:101-110 (1991); Kozma et al., Methods in Enzymology 201:28-43 (1991); Holmes et al., Science 256:1205-10 (1992); and Corfas et al., PNAS, USA 90:1624-1628 (1993). However, with Western blot analysis, accurate quantitation can be very tedious. Furthermore, this technique tends to be time- consuming and generally does not allow high sample throughput.
It is an object of the instant invention to provide a sensitive, reliable assay that measures receptor protein tyrosine kinase (rPTK) autophosphorylation. The assay is desirably useful for qualitatively and quantitatively measuring kinase activation as well as facilitating identification and characterization of potential agonists and antagonists for a selected rPTK. It is a further object of the invention to provide an assay which enables ligand-receptor interactions to be studied for any selected rPTK.
This assay must have a capacity for high throughput, that is, the ability to reliably evaluate large numbers of samples in a relatively short period of time (e.g., in one day). The assay ideally does not use radioactive materials and is also amenable to automation.
It is a further object, in at least one embodiment of the invention, to provide a generic assay which enables a rPTK of interest to be studied, regardless of whether or not a receptor-specific capture agent having the desired characteristics is available. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide an assay which substantially represents the activity of the tyrosine kinase receptor in situ. This is desirable insofar as it reduces the possibility that altered interactions between the receptor and the ligand may occur as a consequence of the receptor not being membrane-bound. Furthermore, if the receptor is a multimeric complex, this assay enables the correctly assembled receptor to be studied. It is an additional object to provide a method for measuring serine-threonine kinase phosphorylation, phosphorylation of intracellular kinases and phosphatase activity.
These and other objects will be apparent to the ordinary artisan upon consideration of the specification as a whole.